Adelaide demurred.
“Yeah, well, you should know, these things, genies, Djinns, are not without skills of their own. They can read minds for one, know your thoughts. It’s how they can take your wishes and twist ‘em all about. They’re fast, too. So, if it gets wind of what I’m about, it could be on us quick,” Adelaide said.
Emma stared at Adelaide, her own confidence beginning to waver.
“Okay, well, there’s that. Just something we’ll have to deal with when the time comes, I guess. So, how do we get this thing to notice us? I mean waiting for someone to maybe pass it to me ain’t gonna cut it. You think I’m out with super-nats, I don’t do great with my own kind either. Ain’t exactly people lined up to want my dreams to come true, you know?” she said.
The two were lost in thought for a second, then Adelaide snapped her fingers.
“Maybe by now, folks are learnin’ what a nasty this thing is, realizing everything they get isn’t everything they want. The only thing more powerful than greed is fear,” she said.
Emma furrowed her brow.
“I don’t get what you’re saying, Addy,” Emma said.
Adelaide pointed to Emma’s smart-phone.
“We use technology to get someone to pass it to ya! Spread the word that this thing is bent on their destruction, tell everybody that the next person who comes across it needs to pass it to you and right quick,” she said.
Emma felt her hope renew.
“Yeah, okay, but social media’s no good. I don’t have many friends or followers, well any really, but radio and tv. We can hit the stations. They’ve seen what’s going on. We can spread the word that way, good,” she said.
The two smiled at each other.
“Right, I’ll get my wee lamb, then. You, take this pen here. Time to ink up, girlfriend,” Adelaide said, sliding a parchment across the bar.
Emma took the pen and watched Adelaide head toward a curtain in the back of her shop.
A few minutes later, Emma stared at herself in the mirror at the back of the bar. The symbols covered her face and arms. Adelaide emerged through the curtain carrying a bowl. She came carefully around the bar and placed the bowl softly down. It was almost full of a crimson fluid.
“Is that, the blood?” Emma said.
“Aye, it is,” Adelaide said, taking her knife and dipping it into the bowl.
As she withdrew the knife, the blood dripped off. Adelaide gave it a little shake, then slid the knife into a sheath she had fastened around her waist.
Emma looked at the knife.
“Are you sure that’s gonna be enough? It doesn’t seem like enough,” she said.
Adelaide slumped her shoulders and gave Emma an impatient look.
“Emma, you’re just gonna have to trust me. It doesn’t need to be dripping, ya know, just dipped. It’s magic, not finger paintin’,” she said.
Emma nodded.
“Oh, yeah, sure, I trust you. Sorry. That’s good,” she said.
Adelaide took a breath and looked at Emma.
“Okay, I think we’re ready to boil a plant here,” she said.
Emma looked at Adelaide, confused.
“To give this thing a taste of it’s own medicine, is how you might say it, I think,” Adelaide said.
Adelaide headed for the door. Emma held back looking at the bowl of blood.
“Are ya comin’? Adelaide said, standing by the open door.
“Yeah, hey, listen. I know how these things can go. Meaning they don’t usually go to plan. What if nobody wants to pass the genie to me? Or what if it takes too long? Is there another way to get it’s attention?” Emma said.
Adelaide smiled.
“Aye. It won’t conjure a Djinn from scratch, but it will bring them to ya, if they’re already roamin’ about. Genie’s love a good story. Ya do know a good story, don’t ya, Em?”
Emma pushed off the bar and headed for the door.
“I might have one or two,” she said.
10
Sonya Bedrosian sat in her dance studio on Maple street and stared out through the large plate glass window. So much activity going on, but none of it inside. She knew her best years were behind her, but she still felt she had something to offer, something that could bring joy to people. She might not be able to execute the perfect dip or twirl like she used to, but she still had some moves in her, moves she wished to impart to a younger generation so that the joy of dance would live on. Fewer and fewer people sought out her instruction anymore, their idea of dancing reduced to shaking their bodies and rubbing against each other. It all lacked refinement and discipline. She stared out her window and watched the commotion in the streets. Something was going on and it wasn’t dancing. She watched as a floating blue figure nodded to a child in the street. This was Hemisphere, so Lady Sonya was only mildly surprised at the appearance. What truly piqued her interest was when the child looked around, her eyes finally settling on the dance studio. The little girl pointed at her through the glass and then ran off. Lady Sonya could only stare as the blue woman smiled. A second later she was inside.
“Greetings and salutations, most fortunate madame,” the floating woman said, bowing her head low.
Lady Sonya was at a loss for words. She realized she was not being polite and tried to gather herself.
“Good Day to you. Have you come for a lesson?” Lady Sonya said, feeling an ember of hope ignite within her.
The blue woman raised her head and smiled back.
“I have come for so much more than that, good teacher. I have come, not that you might serve me, but that I might serve you,” Nadirah said.
Lady Sonya blinked.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand. I am a dance instructor, I— “
“Quiet now, good madame. Today you are so much more than that. For now, for this moment, you are my Master and I your servant, here to grant your heart’s desire,” she said, cutting off Lady Sonya’s words.
“My heart’s desire? I… don’t…” Lady Sonya said, feeling out of her depth.
Nadirah’s smile grew broader.
“I think I know you’re desire. It is a gift I possess. You’re love is for the dance. That is your gift. A gift you wish to give to everyone, is it not?” she said.
Lady Sonya felt a pang in her heart.
“Yes,” she said, tears in her eyes surprising her.
Nadirah nodded and folded her hands.
"It is close to death, no? Having a gift and no one to give it to? Why, when I think of being unable to offer my gift to the world, it fills me with such remorse. It’s why I have but just one rule,” she said, raising her eyes and looking at Lady Sonya.
“Rule?” Lady Sonya said.
Nadirah floated around Lady Sonya, caressed her shoulder, and whispered in her ear.
“To share your good fortune. To give to another what another has given to you, the ability to have whatsoever they desire,” she said.
Lady Sonya raised her eyebrows and watched as Nadirah floated back around and hovered in front of her.
“I know what you desire, Fair Lady Sonya. It is only for you to speak it and it shall be so,” Nadirah said.
Lady Sonya looked down at the floor, feeling that ember of hope spring into a flame. Did she dare believe this visitor to her shop? She wanted to desperately. She looked again out her window. So much activity, but none of it in her little studio. Resolve formed within her and she looked at Nadirah.
“I know my heart’s desire,” she said.
Nadirah bowed her head low and extended her arms.
“Then speak it, my Master. Speak it and let it be for always,” she said.
“I wish everyone loved to dance,” Lady Sonya said.
Nadirah raised her head and smiled deeply at Lady Sonya.
“Granted,” she said.
Emma and Adelaide ran down the row, heading for Hemisphere proper. As they emerged onto Brown street, Adelaide grabbed Emma’s arm, jerking her back.
�
��Look out, Emma!” she said.
Just inches from Emma, a single seated, open cockpit racing car with large exposed wheels zoomed by. Emma gasped as she felt the wind whip past her and the percussive wave of sound jar her head and ears. A millisecond later, another one, and then another flew by. All around them, on every street and corner, thousands of people appeared, watching as the formula one cars competed on the streets of Hemisphere.
“What’s going on?!” Adelaide shouted, trying to be heard above the din of the race cars.
Emma wiped her brow with the back of her arm and tried to recover from her near death experience.
“Some kind of race, I guess. This is not going to end well!” she said.
As if to make her point, a mountain of chicken and waffles spilled into the street from a side avenue. Two formula one racers smashed the glass dishware to smithereens. Their tires ground the chicken and waffles to pulp, causing them to lose control and crash into each other in a fiery explosion. The thousands of drone race fans lining the streets erupted in cheers.
To her left, there was the sound of another explosion. A rolling cloud of black smoke and flame erupted into the sky in the distance.
“What was that?!” Adelaide said, looking in that direction.
Emma could only stare.
“Another racer, I imagine. Probably just discovered all those new Big Ed’s don’t have drive-thrus,” Emma said.
Something in the sky caught her attention and she saw a firebrand arc across. It was no sooner lost to view then she heard the muffled impact of the projectile hitting castle wall.
“Emma! We’ve got to hurry! Before this gets any worse!” Adelaide said.
Emma nodded and was about to say something when she froze.
“It just did,” she said, looking West toward Main Street.
There appearing out of nowhere, were two Tyrannosaurus Rex and they weren’t happy. They both roared and then threw themselves at each other. In the sky above, Pterodactyls soared. Within seconds, they took to feeding as they dove to the ground, scooping up hapless citizenry in their gaping maws and then rocketing back into the clouds. The screams of the dying mixed with myriad sounds of other errant wishes and made a cacophony of horror.
Emma pushed through the screaming race fans.
“Come on, Addy! We’ve got to get to those stations!” she said.
Adelaide followed Emma South down Brown street.
“You don’t want to take your car, Emma?” Adelaide said, trying to keep up.
“Nuh-uh. I’m not putting my P.O.S up against those road-roaches. We’ll take the sidewalk. I’ll go to WHKQ and you take WBBQ. We’ll try and get the word out as fast as we can,” she said.
As she ran, a thought occurred to her and she stopped and spun around.
“Adelaide, listen. When we get to those stations, they might not want to believe you, or fear will be slowing them down. If they act like they don’t want to let you on the air, you may have to resort to… drastic measures, okay?” she said.
For a second, Adelaide didn’t look like she knew what Emma was talking about, then realization sunk in.
“Aye, I’ve got a binding spell or two that will get the sluggards out of the way,” she said.
Emma nodded.
“Good girl,” she said, then turned to run.
She made it but a single step, when a blast of sound washed over them, seemingly coming from all directions. At first Emma had no idea what it was, it was so loud. Gradually, it dawned on her. It was music. It was coming from every speaker everywhere, from every car, every building, every restaurant and gas station. It seemed like it was coming from the very air itself. Emma and Adelaide turned and stared at each other and that’s when everyone around them started to move, to gesticulate, to quiver, to gyrate. Everybody was dancing.
“Um, Emma?! What’s happening?!” Adelaide said, spinning Emma around and shouting in her ear.
“I don’t know! But we’ve got to get to the stations! Come on!” Emma said in Adelaide’s ear, then pulled her along behind her.
Adelaide dug in her feet, jerking Emma to a stop. Emma looked at her, annoyed. Adelaide threw up her hands, her expression conveying the futility of passing the word to anybody if everybody was now caught with Saturday night fever.
It dawned on Emma quickly, and she rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand and looked at everyone. Even the drone race fans were slaves to the rhythm. Race cars began to crash with increasing rapidity all over the street as drivers took their hands off the wheel and threw them in the air. The two T-Rex stopped attacking each other and inflicted impact damage to buildings and those underfoot, squashing both flat. Adelaide’s expression changed and it made Emma look at her. Adelaide was not confused anymore, she looked terrified. She was pointing at something just behind Emma. Emma turned. There, standing in front of her was the blue Djinn.
11
Emma could only stare at the Djinn. Her first thought was that the Genie was absolutely beautiful. It quickly occurred to her that that thought was not helping and she tried to focus. The next thing she noticed was that there was no sound. Everything was quiet. Emma looked around and saw that everyone still danced. Race cars still crashed. Even the Pterodactyls and T-Rex still stomped around, and people were still dying, but all without a sound.
Emma turned and saw Adelaide. Adelaide surreptitiously withdrew her silver knife and vial of lambs blood. The two women looked at each other and Emma nodded ever so slightly before turning back to face the Djinn.
“You do not dance. Neither you nor your magical friend there. You bear a warding. Well every warding it appears,” Nadirah said, offering a coy smile.
Again, Emma was distracted by her beauty and had to make an effort to shake it off.
“Yeah, well, we weren’t sure which one. Wouldn’t want to help us out with that, would ya? You know, in case this kind of thing ever comes up again?” Emma said, gesturing around them.
Nadirah’s smile broadened.
“Is that your wish then?” she said.
Emma felt a jolt of panic pull at her. She hoped it hadn’t shown.
“Not remotely. I think the wishing days are over. How is it there’s no noise right now? That your doing, or did the only legless man in Hemisphere wish for a little peace and quiet?” Emma said.
At this, Nadirah frowned disapprovingly at her.
“Oh, Emma, even for you that is coarse. If I had been the recent Master of the last legless man in your fair city, do you really think peace and quiet would have been his wish?” Nadirah said, laughing.
Emma smirked and felt the heat of chagrin on her face.
“Yeah, okay. Good one,” she said.
Nadirah moved closer to Emma and Emma felt the need to take a step back, but didn’t, not wanting to show even the slightest weakness.
“But to answer your question, My Master—”
“You’re not my Master. I don’t have any wishes to make,” Emma said, cutting her off.
Nadirah tilted her head and looked down, steepling her fingers in front of her.
“Well, that’s not exactly true, is it, Emma Spaulding?
Emma felt a familiar pain in her chest and she shoved it down. In front of her, the Djinn kept a pirate smile.
“Wish or no, you were going to summon me. With a story? I jumped the gun a little, and for that I’m sorry. I so love a good story and I’m sure yours would have been a very good one. ‘Jumped the gun’ that is something you say, isn’t it? I like to try and learn all the pretty nuances of my Masters’ language. For when this kind of thing does happen again,” she said, smiling at Emma.
Emma could see the daggers in her eyes beneath the veneer of sweetness.
“You didn’t answer my question. The calm within the storm. Why?” Emma said, hoping to stall long enough for Adelaide to ready her blade and hoping she was blocking the Djinn’s view well enough for Addy to do it.
“Oh, that, yes, well, it makes talking to each o
ther so much easier. We can do away with all that shouting,” Nadirah said.
Emma nodded.
"So, you got a name? You know, for my files. I like to keep good records, for billing purposes mostly,” Emma said, sensing movement behind her.
Nadirah bowed her head and extended her arms.
“My name is Nadirah, and I extend to you your heart’s desire,” she said.
Emma blinked as a flash of silver passed her peripheral vision. A millisecond later, the knife hung in the air between them. Nadirah’s hand clenched in a fist. She looked up at Emma, never so much as glancing over her shoulder at Adelaide, and smiled warmly.
“Oh, Emma, my darling. Did you not know those such as I can read minds? It helps us with our granting, seeing into the desires of our Masters. It’s how I know what you would wish if you would but let yourself,” she said.
The knife vanished in a puff of blue smoke.
Emma felt herself grow cold and Nadirah must have seen it too.
She threw her head back and started laughing and this time it lacked any kind of warmth whatsoever. When Nadirah stopped and looked again at Emma, she was staring down the barrel of Emma’s service pistol. Blood dripped from the magazine, forming little splotches on the sidewalk at Emma’s feet.
“Hey! Plan D coming at ya!” Emma said, then pulled the trigger as Nadirah tried to re-clench her fist.
Three silver bullets soaked in lamb’s blood slammed into Nadirah and the Genie froze. It started at the bottom, by Nadirah’s feet. A sizzling sound as her essence was eaten away. Slowly, by degree, working its way upward, the remedy consumed Nadirah. Looking like she was in real pain, Nadirah only offered another smile at Emma.
“I do know your heart’s desire, Emma Spaulding. I can read your mind. I know your desire and I grant it. Without condition to a worthy adversary. In my expulsion, I grant it,” Nadirah said, and then she was gone.
There was a blinding flash, so much so, that Emma had to shield her eyes for a second. Just as quickly the flash was gone. Emma lowered her arm and looked around. Standing there, on the corner of Brown and Maple, she and Adelaide didn’t believe what they were seeing. There were no race fans, no race. No Pterodactyls swooped, no Tyrannosaurus battled. There was not a Big Ed’s in sight and no chicken and waffles clogged the streets.
Djinn: A Hemisphere Story (Emma Spaulding Paranormal Detective Book 2) Page 6